NEWS
Follow UsUncapped legspinner Asha Sobhana and spin-bowling all-rounder Sajana Sajeevan, who were impressive in the last edition of the Women’s Premier League, have been included in the Indian squad for the five-match T20I series in Bangladesh.
Jemimah Rodrigues isn’t part of the squad, as the batter has a back injury (as told by her on X account) and is currently being treated at the NCA in Bengaluru. She had a pretty good WPL 2024, scoring 235 runs @ 39.17 and a strike rate of 153.59.
D Hemalatha and Radha Yadav have also been brought back, while Minnu Mani and Mannat Kashyap have been left out. The latter two were part of the Indian set-up for the Australia series, which was played at the start of the year.
Asha played a major role in RCB winning the 2024 WPL, scalping 12 wickets at an average of 15.41 and an economy rate of 7.11. She even took a five-wicket haul in the first game against UP Warriorz.
Also read - Sajeevan Sajana - Remember the name!
Meanwhile, Sajana scored only 87 runs across six innings but that was largely because of her playing as a finisher for Mumbai Indians. The 29-year-old had an average of 30 and a strike rate of 158.18. Against Delhi Capitals, the right-hander hit a last-ball six to win Mumbai the game.
The team will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, with in-form Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma being the openers. Despite having a terrible WPL, Renuka Singh Thakur is part of the set-up.
All five T20Is will be played in Sylhet from April 28 to May 9. This series will serve as a perfect preparation for the T20 World Cup, which will also be played in Bangladesh later this year.
Squad - Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Dayalan Hemalatha, Sajana Sajeevan, Richa Ghosh (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Radha Yadav, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Amanjot Kaur, Shreyanka Patil, Saika Ishaque, Asha Sobhana, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu
